Monday, January 6, 2014

Eddie Rosario's suspension

Back in November, word leaked that Eddie Rosario was facing a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test. On Saturday, that suspension became official -- but it was for a "drug of abuse," not for a performance-enhancer, as originally reported.

Does the difference make a difference? In this sense: It takes two positive tests to get suspended for recreational drug use. So Rosario had been caught once before -- exactly when is unknown -- and didn't mend his ways. One time, you can call it a mistake; a second time, it's something more than that.

Terry Ryan's quote in the Star Tribune was rather pointed: "That's a sizable part of the season, but that's the price you pay for not being responsible enough to tell right from wrong."

Certainly Rosario, one of the Twins' top prospects, has done himself no favors with this. He'll miss more than a third of the minor league season. He might well have opened 2014 at Triple A Rochester (having finished 2013 at Double A New Britain); now he's more likely to return to New Britain when his suspension is finished in late May.

But he'll still be in spring training, and I have a sense that he could stand some time off. Rosario played winter ball last year; he played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic; he played the full minor league season, split between two levels; he played in the Arizona Fall League; he played winter ball again. That's a long grind.